Electrical Contracting News (ECN) July 2017 - Page 48

SPECIAL
FEATURE
HOME AUTOMATION & INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS
The IoT is about connecting devices
over the Internet, and letting them talk
to users via Apps, and each other.
NET GAINS
Andy Douglas, managing director at Timeguard, explains
why everyone can now join in with the Internet of Things.
T
he Internet of Things
(IoT) is everywhere it
seems. Whether you
want to put on a light
at home, control the
oven or play music loud
enough to upset the
neighbours, you can do
it by an App these days. The only downside
for householders is that they might need
to buy a whole lot of new equipment, but
that’s good news for installers who fit it
all. There are some concerns over security
in these days of global cyber attacks, but
it’s hard to imagine anyone deliberately
hacking your home AV system. Network
outages are a bigger risk: All of this remote
control is only as good as the home’s
Internet connection, and Nest has even
built-in a handy way of manually overriding
the system with a press of a single button.
Nevertheless, it seems that Wi-Fi control is
the future – it’s what consumers want!
48 | July 2017
At its core, the IoT is simply about
connecting devices over the Internet, and
letting them talk to users via Apps, and
each other. We are all used to the idea of
boiler installers simply plugging in the
boiler to an existing outlet and handing over
a Wi-Fi controller with no-one touching a
wire, but in the wider IoT, there’s plenty for
an installer to do.
Nice little earner
Home hubs like Nest and Hive have
been doing a great job of familiarising
users with the concept of remote control
and their compatible devices are a nice
earner for installers. The good news
is that joining the IoT at home doesn’t
always have to mean investing up front
in an expensive smart thermostat: So,
it’s a much wider market and one that
presents you with opportunities for any
job you do.
‘At its core,
the IoT is
simply about
connecting
devices over
the Internet,
and letting
them talk
to users via
Apps, and
each other.’